For 12th Year in a Row, CisionPAC Is Most Used Software Among Top PACs

For Over a Decade, CisionPAC Software Has Been Recognized as the Most Used Software by the Top 1000 PACs to File with FEC based on Public Data

Cision is proud to announce that for 12th year in row, more PACs trusted CisionPAC software to file their Year End report with the FEC, more than any other vendor software.

Cision is proud to have more PACs use our software to file compliance reports with the FEC and manage their PAC data than any other vendor.  Unlike other vendors who may be strong in one category, Cision is used across the board in every category of PAC (corporate, association, trade association and labor) and by both large and small PACs.  This was true for the Top 1000 PACs which ranged in size from Cision’s largest customer with $23 Million in receipts to our smallest in the Top 1000 with $142,000 in receipts for 2020.

Corporate PACs

The only category that Cision does not rank #1 is the top 500 Corporate PACs, where DDC Advocacy is the most used vendors for Corporations.  Of DDC’s 173 customers in the top 1000 PACs 74% are corporate, as compared to Cision’s 52%.

Association PACs (Membership Organizations)

Cision is the most used vendor software by the Top 100 Associations (Membership Organizations as categorized by the FEC) and this has held true for the last 12 years as well. FECfile is used by 28 of the Top 100 Membership Associations to file with FEC.  The use of FECfile typically signifies either “in-house” solution or that the PAC’s compliance filing is outsourced to a law firm or agency.

Trade Association PACs

Cision continues to lead the Trade Association PACs category as well.  Second to Corporations in terms of number of large active PACs, Trade Associations tend to rely on FECfile, with 42% (127) using this free upload tool as their means of compliance filing.  This suggests that for Trade Associations there is a greater reliance on either “in-house PAC management solution” or more likely, that the PAC’s compliance is outsourced to a law firm or agency as opposed to using a software solution such as Cision, Aristotle, DDC Advocacy, FiscalNote, etc.  One potential reason for this reliance on outsourcing is the additional burden of “Prior Approval” rules may encourage Trade Associations to seek additional help in managing their PACs.

Labor PACs

Cision is the only major PAC vendor that is used across all categories of PAC, including Labor. The size and scale of large Labor PACs is often a challenge for software platforms to handle, but one that Cision has managed to lead for the last 12 years straight.

Average and Median Sizes of PACs by Category